It's For The Best
by Natalie122333
Summary: Luke's POV of season seven. His thoughts and feelings on the break up.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: The parts in Italic are the past or Luke's thoughts/memories. Thank you for reading, please leave a review to let me know if I should continue writing this.

He let her walk away. Luke had let the love of his life walk away. She came to him last night, frantic and distraught, asking him to elope. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't react fast enough. She gave him an ultimatum, " _No! I'm not waiting! It's now or never!"_ She had said. For him, it had come out of nowhere, he had no idea that she felt so left out, and he was clueless to the fact that he had hurt her. He thought she was happy, that she was okay with him wanting to spend time with April alone. He wonders why she never just told him how she was feeling these past few months.

The next morning, he goes to her, wanting to talk about what happened. But she didn't even give him a chance; she told him that she had given him every chance already. " _There is no us. There's you, and there's me. It's over. It was over last night, and it's over now. It's over."_ She told him. And he notices that she took off her engagement ring. Hearing her say that almost made him want to give up on her, but he didn't.

Then, to make his day even worse, Kirk crashed a car into his diner. Luke told the tow truck driver that he needed time to think about what he wanted to do about the car. But, he used that time to think about Lorelai. He came up with a plan. He decided that he would need to prove that he was ready to marry her. He goes and fills the truck with gas so that they can drive to Maryland or Atlantic City or even Vegas to elope. He even makes renovations at a couple places. He packs the truck with a large assortment of things, camping equipment, clothes, and a whole bunch of random things that they might need for their elopement. He doesn't even think about what he'll do if she rejects him. 

The next morning, he drives to her house. She comes outside when he honks the horn; she stands on the porch, her arms crossed. He stays on the grass. He tells her about the car crashing into the diner, but he tells her that he doesn't even care about that. She's all that matters right now. He pours his heart out to her:  
"It's like it's not even real to me. It's like my life isn't even real to me unless you're there, and you're in it, and I'm sharing it with you. And, uh I don't know what I was waiting for, and I don't know what I was scared of, but I'm not. I'm not scared, and I'm not waiting. I'm here."  
And he means every word of it. He can't imagine life without her. He blabs on and on, telling her what he's planned for their elopement and he tells her that she was right, that he needs act faster. But she tells him once again that it's over.  
He won't accept that, "You can't just say that it's over. It's not over. You can't just decide that it's over I'm in this too. You know I'm not gonna let it be over." He tells her. He can't lose her, he won't give up. He's desperate to get her to come with him. 

But then, she tells him. She says the four words that make him turn around and leave. "I slept with Christopher."  
He stares at her for a few seconds, nods his head a little, realizing why she kept telling him to stop. He gets in the truck, slamming the door behind him.

He drives back to the diner, goes to the apartment to pick up his address book and a map. Lorelai gave him Christopher's address a while ago, in case he was with Rory and Lorelai and something had happened to them and Lorelai couldn't tell Christopher that Rory was hurt. He gets back in the truck and just drives. He feels a whole mix of emotions: Anger, sadness, betrayal, and hurt. He is not most angry at himself or Lorelai, he's most angry at Christopher. He saw how upset and emotional Lorelai was that night. Sure, she went to Christopher, but Christopher took advantage of the situation. He had sex with a woman who had just broken up with her fiancé. He took advantage of the fact that she was hurt and vulnerable. So Luke decides to give Christopher what he deserves. When he gets to Christopher's apartment, he knocks on the door and as soon as it opens and he sees Christopher standing there, he winds up his arm for a second before punching him right in the face. Then he turns around and leaves before Chris can react. _It's what he deserves_ , Luke reminds himself.

Luke decides to start repairing the diner himself. He finds T.J. there. T.J. mentions that there's a diner across the street. Luke is confused, what diner? T.J. tells him that it's Kirk's diner. Oh great another thing to deal with. Kirk tells him that he was just filling a need for the town, like it wasn't his fault that Luke's had to close for repairs. When he gets back to T.J., T.J. starts rambling about Liz, which turns into him telling Luke to get Lorelai pregnant. Luke tells T.J. that he'll go get the primer to hopefully get him to stop talking about Lorelai.

On the way back from the hardware store, he sees her. They stand on opposite sides of the street. They walk by each other, as she passes she says she's sorry. He tells her he's fine. She tells him that she's not fine. "You're not?" He asks, trying to sound surprised.  
"Of course not." She replies. He once again tells her that he's fine. He won't let her believe that he's not anything but fine. Then he tells her that he punched Christopher to deal with it, suggesting that she should do the same. She didn't know that he punched him. "You two really need to work on your communication skills." He tells her, trying to imply that she should have worked on them with him.  
"Christopher is not my boyfriend." She tells him and he tells her that he doesn't care if he is or not, she can date whoever she wants, he doesn't care… obviously she doesn't care how it will affect him, so why should it matter if she wants to be with Christopher now. She tells him to take his anger out on her, saying that she deserves it.  
He tries his best to try to convince her that he's truly over it, that it's no big deal for him.  
"Oh, it's not as big a deal?" She asks, clearly not believing him.  
"Yeah, so we're not getting married. It's okay by me. I mean you're the one who proposed in the first place." He knows it a low blow and he walks away before he regrets saying it and before he can see her reaction. As he walks back to the T.J. he realizes he just said all those things to her because he wants them to be true. He doesn't want to feel this pain right now. He doesn't want to forget what it's like to sleep next to her. He doesn't want to stop seeing her every day. He doesn't want to stop loving her… but there's nothing he can do to go back in time and fix their mistakes. So he tells himself that it's easier to tell her he's fine, that's he's over it, that he doesn't care. When the truth is, he feels the complete opposite.

T.J. wants Luke and Lorelai to come with him and Liz to some concert or something. Luke needs to tell him, so he does, "Lorelai and I broke up."  
T.J. hugs him. He actually cares… and he invites him over to dinner. Liz also hugs him and it's actually comforting. Luke remembers how excited she was when she found out that he and Lorelai were dating. However, she seems to have changed her mind as she gives him this stupid theory on why he and Lorelai broke up, saying that they were on different planes. Luke tells her it didn't work because they weren't right for each other. He tries to convince them and himself this. Liz forgot that the oven was broken, so Luke volunteers to go pick up some food for them. He goes to the supermarket, not Doose's since its closer to Liz and T.J.'s place.

She's there, across the frozen food aisle.  
"Hey." He greets her.  
She figures that they both decided to avoid Doose's. And she reminds him that he said he's not mad. He tells her the truth, yes he was mad and he was a jerk… and mad. Then she tells him that she was also a jerk. He tries not to look her in the eye, because it hurts. Her eyes are beautiful and he can't bear to look into them again. He tells her that he eventually won't be mad anymore. He states that it's not either of their faults, they're just not right together. He's been trying so hard to convince himself of this fact; he tries to deny that they ever belonged together. He tells her that she belongs with someone like Christopher. He tells her that he'll go back to being the guy that pours her coffee, that's all they'll ever be to each other again, diner owner and his customer. He tells her this to convince her to move on and to convince himself to move on. After more than nine years, it's time to move on. Even though they had managed to fix things and get back together before, this time there was no getting back together. They were done, it was over for good. " _It's for the best."_ He tells himself. 


	2. Chapter 2

When he gets home, he gets a beer out of the fridge and sits down. He removes his hat and runs a hand through his hair. He guzzles down the beer quickly then stares at his hat in his hands. It's the one she gave him, almost six years ago. It was a Christmas present, a thank you for driving her to the hospital when her father was sick. He remembers that night like it was yesterday. He's never really been big on hospitals, it all started when he saw his mother in the hospital when he was a kid. He also hates needles, wounds and IV's. He had to deal with his uneasiness of hospitals when his dad got sick and eventually died. He wanted to do the same with Lorelai, be there for her while she worried about her dad. When he told her that he wasn't big on hospitals, she told him he could leave, telling him that he didn't look so good. That led to her saying that he always looks good. He was pleased and surprised that she thought this. At that point in their relationship, he knew that he was attracted to her… he just didn't know he was in love and even though they occasionally flirted, he was afraid to ask her out. Later that night, Lorelai started crying and she let her head fall on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her rubbed her back. It felt pleasant, having her that close to him, they had hugged each other before then, but this was different. He was happy to be a shoulder to cry on for her.

Then a couple days later, she gave him the hat. He wore the hat every day from that day on. He guessed it was kind of a way to show his feelings for her, but he didn't tell her how he felt for another three years after that. Memories of their relationship rush through him suddenly. Their first kiss, her lips were so soft… and their second kiss when she had repeated his question to her, " _Will you just stand still?"_  
Their first date, when he had told her: " _I'm in. I am all in."_ All the times they kissed goodbye when she left the diner. The night they got back together, kissing her while Judy Garland sang loudly on the T.V. Getting engaged, " _Kids would be good."_ she had told him and he was so happy. Seeing her look so beautiful in the wedding dress that she had bought, which she had had some doubts on, but he quickly got rid of them telling her: _"It's perfect."_ And finally the memory of the last time he really saw her happy, when she told him that she had planned their wedding for June 3rd.

He remembers trying to tell her about April the night she showed him the wedding dress, but after seeing her so happy, once again he couldn't find a way to tell her that he had a twelve year old daughter that he never knew about. Then she found out in one the worst possible ways, she saw April in the diner and April had told her that she was the owner's daughter. He told Lorelai that he was stupid for not telling her and that was true. But, she forgave him for keeping that secret even though he was being a hypocrite after telling her _"No more secrets."_ She was the one who suggested postponing the wedding so that he could spend some time getting to know April. He thought she was okay with the fact that he had wanted to get to know his daughter alone. He thought she was okay with postponing the wedding, but when they went on that trip to Martha's Vineyard, she had told him that she was holding out hope that things would settle down with him in time for a June 3rd wedding. He felt guilty that she felt that way, so he reassured her that he loved her and that the wedding was going to happen, he even told them that they could elope.

But things just got worse after that, he left her for ten days when he went on a school trip with April. When he returned, he decided he wanted to throw April a birthday party in the diner. It turned out to be a bust, so he had to call Lorelai to come help him out. That night, he realized how stupid he was in thinking that April would like Lorelai better than him. He didn't realize that all Lorelai wanted was to help him… and it was stupid of him to keep them apart. He was so thankful that Lorelai helped him with the party. On the other hand, Anna was furious that Lorelai was left alone with April and her friends. And he listened to Anna's complaints; he told Lorelai that Anna was mad. He listened to Anna because he was afraid that she would take April away from him if he didn't do what she wanted. So, instead of letting his fiancée get to know her future stepdaughter, he took the easy way out and decided to respect Anna's wishes.

Then, instead of things calming down like he wanted them to, they got even worse. Apparently, Lorelai went to see Anna, and she said that Anna said everything with April would be fine once they were married. This made him angry, he didn't want her help with Anna, he could handle it… he didn't need Lorelai to stick up for him. He didn't want Anna to be even angrier than she already was. But Lorelai wouldn't listen, telling him that she's been not saying anything or having an opinion for months. _Could she really have been upset for months without him noticing? Was all of this his fault? Maybe it was. He should have seen that she was actually upset even though she told him that she was okay with postponing the wedding. No. Forget it, he doesn't need her. He doesn't need a woman who won't tell him how she's feeling. He's done reminiscing and wishing things could have gone differently._

Luke gets up to get another beer. On the way to the fridge, he throws the blue hat in the bottom of the closet. He's done wearing it, it was only a symbol of his love for her and he doesn't want to be reminded of how much he loved her. Even though it hurts, he wants to forget that he ever met Lorelai Gilmore, forget that she was only woman he ever truly loved.

A week later, when the diner reopens, Rory comes in and she notices his new hat almost right away. He doesn't tell her why he has a new hat, but she doesn't ask either. He doesn't ask her how Lorelai is either; he just gives Rory her coffee and muffin and she leaves without mentioning Lorelai. Lorelai doesn't come into the diner at all, but he tells himself that he doesn't care.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Thank you for the reviews and follows. I want to state that this story will stick to the plot of season seven. Yes, it will be sad but there will be happy moments with April and Luke will feel better in time, just like you saw in season seven. There will also be a few off screen scenes. After watching season six and seven, I felt sadder for Luke than Lorelai, and I'd rather write from his perspective. Especially since I hate Christopher! Haha ;)

A few days later, Luke gets an empty box from one of his deliveries to put Lorelai's things that she left at his place, or things that remind him of her. He goes upstairs on his lunch break to get this done. He opens the closet, sorting through his flannel shirts until he finds the one he's looking for, the blue and white one that she wore on the morning after their first date. That's how the town found out they were dating, she went downstairs into the diner wearing nothing but his shirt. _She only wanted to get some coffee, bothered by the fact that he didn't keep any in the apartment. When she came back upstairs and told him what happened, he offered to get her coffee. After he got dressed that morning, he went downstairs to make her coffee, expecting the whole town to share their opinions on his new relationship with Lorelai, but it was silent as he made the coffee. When he returned to the apartment, she was dressed in her outfit from the previous night; the flannel was back on the chair. He handed her the coffee and she was off to the Inn or her house after a quick "Thanks." And a lingering goodbye kiss._

Luke brings his thoughts back to the present; he holds the flannel up to his face. It still smells like her… he hasn't worn it since she claimed it as her own. On most nights she stayed over, she would wear it to bed. Although he never admitted it to her, he thought she wore it better than he ever did, it made her eyes look even bluer and she always looked comfortable in it. He moves on to the bathroom. His eyes scan the shelf that he built for her. She left a toothbrush, her crazy cinnamon flavoured toothpaste, and some cosmetic items. He throws out all these items, seeing no use for them. In the shower, he finds her shampoo and conditioner, her pink razor and some vanilla scented shaving gel. He sighs as he remembers how he loves the smell of that shampoo and the smell of her perfume…. _Just get rid of it, stop thinking of her._ He tells himself. And he throws out those things too.

He opens the dresser drawers and looks throughout the apartment to see if she left anymore of her things here. He finds a pair of her sweatpants, a few hair elastics, a pair of socks and a pair of earrings. He drops them in the box with the flannel shirt. Maybe he could mail them to her… he just decides to leave the box in the back of the closet. Maybe one day, he'll want to open this box and be reminded of the happy times with her, but for now he doesn't want to dwell on the past, he wants to move on.

Anna calls that night, asking him if April can stay with him she's in New Mexico taking care of her mother. He tells her fine, no problem. April's never stayed with him alone all night, unless you count that time her and her friends slept over for her birthday party. But Lorelai was the one who stayed with them in the apartment. He's happy to have April stay though. Hopefully it can help Anna see that he wants to be a responsible parent, a good dad. He also hopes that April staying with him for a couple weeks will help their relationship grow, he wants to bond with her.

When April comes over the next day, he shows her around the apartment even though she's been there before. He's a little nervous about whether or not she'll be comfortable staying here with him. She tells him that her avocado pit will need light. He admits that his place is a kind of depressing, he hasn't really changed anything in it since he's lived there… he tells April that they can buy some pillows, a rug and a couple lamps to change things a bit. He watches as she puts the avocado pit near the window above the sink. He smiles, happy to have her here.

The next day, after they get back from Target, he tells her he's glad they went shopping together to pick out some things to brighten up and change the apartment a bit. April tells him he can have a nice dinner at the table now, put flowers in the vase and dim the lights and light some candles. He thinks that she's the one who wants that so he tells her they can do that tonight if she wants. But she says he can do it when he has a lady over. _Oh no, she knows Anna must have told her about the break up._  
He quickly changes the subject, tells her that she can set up the desk lamp that he bought her. She tells him that there isn't any homework on the first day of school. He just tells her that he'll set up the lamp so she can use it tomorrow. Thank God he avoided talking about Lorelai or another woman with April. He wouldn't be comfortable talking about that with his daughter that he's only known for a few months.

But, April brings up the topic of him dating again, hinting at the fact that her biology teacher is single and that she'd be willing to help him meet her so he can ask her out. April admits that Anna told her that he and Lorelai broke up.  
"Okay, well sometimes that happens, you know? Sometimes it doesn't work out between people, and it's nobody's fault." He tells her, once again trying to convince himself this.  
"It's all about pheromones." April replies.  
"Right," He laughs a little, trying to show her that he's not upset at her for offering to set him up with her teacher. He's not sure that he's ready to date again. "But I want you to know I'm okay, and you don't have to take care of me. I'm here to take care of you. Okay?"  
"Okay." She responds.  
He kisses her forehead and wishes her a goodnight. Her showing that she cares makes him feel happy. He's pleased that their relationship has really grown since they met all those months ago.


	4. Chapter 4

About a week later, as usual Taylor annoys Luke. Apparently, a train that had pickles in it derailed somewhere outside of town and the pickles have been sitting in the sun for a few days. The smell moved to Stars Hollow and it's stinking up the whole town. Taylor knew about the train, but he didn't tell the town because it wasn't a problem until this morning. He tells the town that he doesn't know how long the smell will last. Taylor doesn't want to take responsibility for the mess, since the train came from Ohio and the pickles are on the Woodbridge side of the tracks.  
"Just pick up the damn pickles, Taylor!" Luke tells him, frustrated that he's trying to find a way out of this.

Later that night, April has the idea to make a bonfire. Luke tells her that's a great idea and he builds it with some help from the town. Taylor shows up, muttering something about needing a permit to have a bonfire. Luke just tells him that the forty eight hours that Taylor said it would take to get rid of the smell will take too long, so the fire is to help the town get through the night. Taylor goes on about bonfires being illegal, but the town gangs up on him and he gives up and leaves.

April asks Luke if he wants to try a "smoreos" that she made, a smore made with Oreos. He doesn't really like sweets, but he can't say no to here so he takes it from her, "Of course." He tells her. But then he looks up and across the square and he sees _her_ for the first time since their encounter at the supermarket. She's driving by in Christopher's car. He stares at the car. So she is seeing him. He overheard Babette and Miss Patty talking the other day, Babette telling Patty that she saw Christopher picking up and dropping Lorelai off. Clearly Lorelai is finding it easier to move on. He didn't want to believe it when he heard Miss Patty and Babette, but seeing them together himself confirms it. _She's moved on, it's really over._  
"Dad? Dad! Dad, come on. You haven't tried it yet what do you think?" April gets his attention back.  
"Oh." He takes a bite of it and tells her it's delicious. But he looks back across the square only to find Lorelai and Christopher gone. They must have only been driving through to leave town. Good, if they had come to the bonfire, he and April would have to leave. He doesn't want to see her with him.

A few days later, Luke drives to pick April up from her swim practice. Her coach greets him and he introduces himself.  
"April's dad. She talks a lot about you." The coach replies.  
He's happy to hear that. The coach introduces herself as Susan. She asks if April got her love of swimming from him.  
"Oh, no, not me. No I don't really know how to swim." He tells her, which isn't necessarily true, he could swim to save his life, but he doesn't really love swimming. "I could doggy-paddle to shore in a pinch, but I never really learned formally." He adds.  
Susan tells him that's not good; she tells him that he can come to her adult swim class that Saturday. He tells her: "I guess I could do that." 

He goes on Saturday. And Susan flirts with him a little; she even touches his chest while teaching him how to breathe properly. It's a little uncomfortable for him. She asks if he eats and drops a hint that he could call her and they could go eat. She gives him her number and he agrees to call. When he gets back to the diner that night, Kirk tells him that he is going to break up with Lulu. Luke sets him straight, telling him that he is the luckiest man on the planet to have a sweet girl like Lulu, that he will personally break every bone in Kirk's body if he is ever unkind to Lulu. He doesn't want to have to deal with a heartbroken Kirk or see a sad Lulu. He doesn't want Kirk to feel like he feels right now and he won't let Kirk make the same mistake of letting the woman he loves get away. Luke doesn't want anyone to feel the same way he's feeling.

He calls Susan and makes a date. Since Lorelai has moved on so fast, why can't he do the same? He might as well try to move on with a woman that seems to like him. It's better than pining for a woman for eight years only to end up breaking up… twice. _Maybe Lorelai just isn't meant to be with you. Maybe you're meant to with Susan or some other woman and Lorelai is meant to be with Christopher._ Luke tells himself.

On the date, Susan tells Luke to sit next to her instead of across from her. He thinks that's a little strange, but he moves to sit next to her. He looks at the menu and realizes that it's a vegan restaurant. He tells her that he's never eaten this healthy before. She tells him that soy steak is "scrumptious"; he doesn't think it will be, but he doesn't exactly tell her that. Then she starts asking weird questions and tells him about her ex, another one of her student's fathers he assumes. She asks who he thinks would play him in a movie… then she tells him how her ex went "Psycho!" shouting this loudly, scaring him. He stares at her, bewildered at her behaviour. She tells him that she wasn't gonna date any more single dads after that, but here she is. He chuckles a little and smiles nervously, trying to be polite.  
"You hooked me." She tells him. He just responds by nodding his head with a "Hmm."  
Thankfully, the waitress comes and asks if she can get anyone a drink. "Yes, please." Luke tells her and he orders a beer, hoping it will somehow help him come up with a way to end the date quickly.

Luckily, Susan drove herself to the restaurant, so he won't have to drive her home. But before she gets in her car, she leans in, trying to kiss him. He awkwardly steps back and offers her his hand instead. She frowns but takes his hand, "I'll see you at the pool again soon?" She asks. He just nods, not trusting himself to say anything polite after that terrible date.

He gets home and sees Kirk and Lulu walking together. _Good. At least they're happy._ He gets to the apartment and after Lane leaves, Luke tells April that he'll keep calling Susan "Coach Bennett", letting her know that he won't be dating her swim coach. He and April sit on the couch and watch T.V. while Luke finishes off the leftover pizza, thankful to eat some real cheese. Luke is comfortable there, with April next to him. Although his love life isn't looking so good right now, at least he has a great daughter in his life to make him feel content.

Author's note: The bonfire scene is a deleted scene from the "The Great Stink." It's on youtube if you've never seen it.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Luke didn't realize how protective he had become of April until she mentioned she was going to a boy-girl party. He didn't want her to go, he didn't want some immature teenage boy to try and woo his way into his daughter's heart. April was way too young to have a boyfriend, way too young to kiss a boy. Luke asked if there would be kissing at the party and she freaked out, clearly not wanting to discuss that subject with him.

On the night of the party, he tells her not to kiss any boys (using the term "juggling" instead of kissing so she doesn't freak out). She told him that she wasn't feeling well, that she had a stomach-ache. He got worried, so he felt her forehead, it was hot, and she definitely had a fever. He told her that she couldn't go to the party. She was furious, claiming that he only didn't want her to go to the party, that she wasn't sick. But he held his ground, telling her that she was sick, that she couldn't go to the party.  
She doesn't take this well, "You suck as a dad!" She shouts at him and she goes off to her bed. He sighs and sits down, feeling at a loss. He knows he did the right thing by not letting her go to the party, but he feels like he might have botched their relationship a little.

She didn't speak to him for about a half hour. He walks over to her bed and offers her some ginger ale, which she declines. Then he asks her if she wants to watch a movie, she doesn't respond. He tells her that there will be other parties. She just groans. He sighs and reaches down to feel her forehead again, it's hotter than before. He decides to call Lorelai. He knows that she'll know what to do. He hopes she'll help… even if they aren't exactly on speaking terms right now. She picks up after the first ring and he wonders if she looked at the caller ID. He frantically tells her that April's really sick and he doesn't know what to do. He tells her April's symptoms, hoping that she'll be able to tell him what to do.  
"Okay. Slow down. Did she throw up?" Lorelai asks.  
"No." Luke replies.  
"Did she eat something bad?"  
"No. She hasn't eaten anything all day." He tells her, just realizing this now.  
"Aw, where does it hurt?" Lorelai asks, sounding sympathetic.  
Luke takes a second to reply, something about the tone of her voice makes him feel reminiscent. "Uh, she's holding her side." He tells her.  
"Which side?" Lorelai asks without missing a beat.  
"Her right side. It seems to be getting worse." He tells her, worried that she'll say that April is dying…  
"Oh, wow it could be appendicitis."  
"Appendicitis…really?" He asks.  
"Yeah, yeah it's gonna be okay, but you should take her right to the hospital. Take her to St. Joseph's." Lorelai tells him calmly, which eases his worries a little.  
"Okay. Okay." He says. He hangs up the phone then realizes that he didn't thank Lorelai. He puts the phone down and rushes over to April.  
"April? I have to take you to the hospital, okay? I called Lorelai and she thinks it's your appendix."  
April groans again and whispers "Okay." Luke helps her up and tries to lift her into his arms. "Dad, I can walk." She tells him.  
"Okay, but hurry up. We need to get to the truck."

A couple of hours later, Luke sits in the waiting room of the hospital. _She'll be fine. Everything will be okay._ He tells himself, repeating what the doctor said before he took off to move April to the recovery room.  
"Hey." He hears and he looks up from his magazine to see Lorelai standing there.  
"Oh, hey. Hi." He says as he stands up. He didn't expect her to come here.  
"How is she?" Lorelai asks.  
"Okay. It was appendicitis, like you said. But she's okay. I mean the operation went really great. They got it out, no problem. And she's gonna be fine. And I'm gonna be able to see her pretty soon." He tells her, looking directly at her face.  
"Good, good." Lorelai looks and sounds relieved.  
He tells her that she didn't have to come, but he thanks her for coming. It's nice to see that she still cares enough to be there for him when his kid is sick. He knows that he would do the same for her if Rory was in a similar situation.  
She looks at him in the eye and he holds her gaze as she tells him that there's nothing worse than taking your kid to the emergency room, telling him about a time that Rory had food poisoning, making her feel like they were going to have to hook her up to an IV. Luke understands what she means, he looks away for a second, but then looks into her eyes again, feeling comfortable doing so. She's giving off some sort of energy that's making him feel relieved and safe. He tells her how he was feeling scared and panicked. That he was a little too out of his mind that he had the crazy thought that they could take his appendix and give it to April.  
"Well, I'm glad she's gonna be okay." Lorelai tells him.  
Luke nods, "Yeah she's gonna be alright.

Suddenly, a doctor comes up behind them. "Mr. and Mrs. Nardini?" He asks.  
"Oh, no. Hi, I'm Luke Danes. I'm April's dad." Luke corrects him.  
"Well, she's a little out of it right now, but you and you're wife can go in and see her."  
Luke starts to tell him that Lorelai's not his wife, but stops and turns when he hears Lorelai say "No, I'm not, uh…" Her hand is on her chest, and he sees why the doctor thought she was his wife. Lorelai puts her hand back down, but it's too late, Luke already saw the ring. He stares at her hand, shocked. _It must be Christopher. She married Christopher._ He brings his eyes back to her face and gives her a look of disbelief. He wants an explanation. But the doctor asks if both of them would like to go see April. "You go." Is all Lorelai says. "Okay." They both say and Luke follows the doctor.

A few minutes later, Luke sits in the chair next to April's hospital bed and changes the channels on the T.V. He stops for a second to feel April's forehead and is relieved to find her fever is gone. He moves his hand down to hers and holds it there for a few seconds. He turns back to the T.V. and changes the channel again until he sees an old black and white movie that he can't remember the name of. It gets his attention, one of the characters says "…eloping to Maryland." Luke thoughts immediately drift to Lorelai. _She married him. She married Christopher. She married Christopher after I came to her that morning, months ago, wanting to elope. But she had slept with Christopher. And now she had decided to marry him. Christopher is the one who gets to sleep next to her every night. He's the one that gets live with her in the remodelled house that I spent thousands of dollars on…_

Luke is hurt, offended and just disappointed with Lorelai's actions. Then, it hits him. He still loves her. Even though he has tried to convince himself that it would be easier to try and forget her, try and to move on. Seeing her tonight made him come to the realization that he could never really let her go, he could never not love her. But there's nothing he can do about now because she's married to **him**.

His attention is drawn back to April when she wakes up and whispers "Dad?"  
He turns to face her: "Hey, sweetie. How are you feeling?"  
April gives him a small smile, "A lot better."  
He smiles back, "That's great." They sit in silence for a few seconds.  
"Dad?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Thanks… for looking out for me. For making sure I didn't go to the party and for taking me to the hospital. I should have listened to you when you said I had a fever… I'm sorry I said that you suck as a dad, it's not true."  
"April… it's alright. All that matters is that you're okay."  
"I am… and Dad?"  
"Yeah?"  
"I love you."  
Luke swallows nervously. He's shocked to hear her say that. Then, he smiles softly and answers: "I love you too, April." He reaches out and takes her hand in his.


	6. Chapter 6

A few days later, Anna comes to pick April up. Luke is sad to see her go, but he knows that she has been missing her mother. The town came up with the idea to do a knit-a-thon to raise money to fix the bridge over the river. Luke doesn't usually care about town events unless they directly affect him or his business. After a couple days of it, the knit-a-thon has officially pushed Luke to his breaking point. He worries that someone will end up poking an eye out or something.

T.J. comes into the diner to tell Luke that Liz wants to deliver her baby at home. Luke thinks that's crazy, _why would Liz want to deliver a baby at home? Wouldn't it be easier and safer to do it in a hospital?_ T.J. tells Luke that Liz wants Luke to be there for the birth of the baby. Luke tells him he'll be there; he doesn't want to miss it since he wasn't there for Jess' birth. He doesn't know if he'll be any help, but he's happy to be there to support his sister. After Luke leads T.J. out of the diner, he looks across the street to see if any customers are coming. What he sees agitates him. Lorelai and Christopher are walking together, holding hands, smiling. He stares at them for a few seconds before slamming the diner door shut. _They have the nerve to walk around this town,_ _ **my**_ _town? Are they trying to rub it in my face? Is Lorelai trying to prove to me that's she's happier with Christopher?_ As he walks back into the diner, he gets tangled up in someone's yarn. _That's it; I'm done with this damn knit-a-thon._ "That's it! All right, this diner is now a knit-free zone! Stop knitting or get the hell out!" Luke shouts at everyone.

A few hours later, Anna comes into the diner wanting to talk to Luke in private. He takes her up to the apartment. Anna tells him that her mom is still recovering and that she and April will have to move to New Mexico. Luke asks if April is okay with this, he can't exactly imagine her being happy about moving away from her friends and her school. Anna tells Luke that April isn't thrilled. Luke understands why Anna feels she needs to move. He knows what it's like to have a sick parent. But he can't help but wonder what this will mean for his and April's relationship. He had truly felt like they had just started to bond, that they had just started to form a proper father-daughter relationship. How can they continue to bond if they're over a thousand miles apart?

That weekend, April comes to visit. Luke informs her that Anna told him that they're moving to New Mexico. April lets him know exactly how she feels about it, telling him that Anna is ruining her life. Luke comforts her, tells her that it's gonna be fine. He wraps his arm around her and holds her close.

Luke decides to try to make a deal with Anna. He offers to let April stay with him for the rest of the school year. Anna shuts this down immediately, telling him that she won't be away from April for six months. Luke mentions that he already told April that she could stay with him during spring break and part of the summer. Anna doesn't take this well, telling Luke that he has no right to make promises to April or make decisions without her say. She leaves the Café before Luke can really try to reason with her. And before he can even think about what just happened, T.J. calls him to tell him the baby is on the way.

After the baby, Doula is born; Liz and T.J. both urge Luke to hold her. He doesn't want to as he's never really held a baby before and he's afraid he'll drop her or she'll cry. He holds her and it's not bad. He smiles, enjoying the moment. T.J says that April can be Doula's number-one babysitter. _Well that will be hard if she's living in another state. Doula is April's cousin and she should get to meet her and get to know her. I have to try to convince Anna that I have a right to have a say in decisions about April's life._  
"Yeah. Sure." Luke tells T.J.

That night, Luke goes to Anna's house. He thought about it on the drive there, he's going to give Anna a piece of his mind. He's done letting Anna call all the shots. Its Anna's fault that he didn't even know he had a daughter for all those years. It's Anna's fault that he missed out on all the milestones in April's life. April's not only Anna's daughter, she's Luke's too and he has the right to make decisions about April's life.  
"I'm not gonna let you treat me this way. I'm her father…. April and I we have this relationship and you can't just decide things… we have to make decisions together. And I will fight you. I will fight you for that Anna, if I have to. I have rights. I'm her father, and I have rights." He tells her angrily. He leaves before she can argue with him.


	7. Chapter 7

A few weeks later, Liz comes to the Diner with Doula for a visit. She asks Luke what's happening with Anna. Luke tells her the plan he came up with to try and have April for every other holiday, a month in the summer and a few weekends. Liz tells him that he should get a lawyer. Luke doesn't want to get a lawyer, lawyers just waste time and money. Liz gets distracted by Doula and says that she's going to leave Doula with Luke.  
"You can't just leave her here. I can't watch her." Luke tells her. Liz tells him that Doula will just sleep the whole time. Liz leaves before Luke can convince her that it's a bad idea to leave him alone with a baby. He's never been alone with a baby. This can't turn out well.

Doula sleeps for the next half hour. When she wakes up, she doesn't cry, she doesn't seem upset in any way. Luke decides to take her for a walk. It's a nice day outside, not too cold. As he walks past Doose's, Lorelai comes out. She hesitates before she greets him. He greets her back. She asks him who Doula is and he tells her she's Liz's baby. Lorelai congratulates him on becoming an uncle again. He thanks her. Lorelai looks at Doula and comments on the fact that she looks like T.J.  
"Hopefully she will grow out of that." Luke responds, he noticed that too and it doesn't please him. But Lorelai also says Doula is adorable and sweet and she asks what her name is.  
"Doula." Luke tells her.

"What?" Lorelai responds.

"Doula." Luke repeats.

"Oh, is that…"

"Weird name." Luke finishes for her.

Lorelai agrees, but she also says its special, one of a kind, distinctive. She asks if she can hold Doula. She smiles at Luke and he almost smiles back.  
"Oh, sure, of course." He tells her. Lorelai picks up Doula and holds her. She asks how old she and how Liz is doing. Luke answers her questions while looking at Doula, occasionally glancing at Lorelai. Lorelai notices that Doula has long fingers.  
"Yeah, I noticed that too." Luke tells her. He finds himself smiling, looking down at Doula. But he's also happy to be in Lorelai's company. Doula spits up a bit and Luke and Lorelai gawk at her as she tries to take Luke's finger in her mouth. The moment is interrupted by Christopher's voice, "Hey."  
Luke immediately lifts his head to see Christopher standing in front of Doose's. He immediately lets the grin fall from his face.

"Hey… uh looks its Liz's new baby." Lorelai tells Christopher.

"Cute." Christopher responds.

"Yeah." Lorelai turns to face Luke. "Well, thanks, um, for letting me…" She mutters and Luke notices she seems nervous. He touches his hand to her back a second to comfort her before realizing that it's inappropriate. "Yeah." He says.

"Hold her. And tell Liz congratulations for me, okay." Lorelai finishes as she puts Doula back in her stroller.

"Will do." Luke tells her.

"Alright see you." Lorelai says.

"See you." Luke replies, glancing at Christopher one last time before him and Lorelai walk away.  
Luke covers Doula with her blankets so she won't be cold. As he walks down the street, he has a thought. _That could have been us. Lorelai and I could have had a baby together. We should be happily married by now. We could have been if I didn't let her walk away._ He enjoyed seeing Lorelai with Doula. It made him happy. But as soon as Christopher appeared, it reminded him that Lorelai is married to him.

That weekend ,Luke has plans to spend time with April. But when she appears to be late, he phones Anna. He asks her if April's on the way. Anna tells him that April's not coming. Anna says she's not comfortable with April being with him right now. Luke hangs up, angry. _So now I can't even see April until things are settled? That's ridiculous._

Luke decides that hiring a lawyer isn't such a bad idea. But what the lawyer tells him isn't what he wants to hear. He says that there isn't much of a chance that the court will side with him. This worries Luke; he was hoping they could settle this without having to sue Anna. This is going to get ugly. _It's worth it._ He tells himself. April is the only thing that brings joy to his life right now.

When Luke returns to Stars Hollow and gets out of the truck, he sees Christopher across the town square. He glares at him. _Great_ , _another thing to make my day worse._ Christopher starts walking towards Luke. _What? Does he want a fight? Good, 'cause he's got one_. Luke starts walking towards Christopher, slipping off his jacket on the way. They meet in the square and Christopher takes the first swing, but Luke ducks. Luke punches Christopher in the face and he falls down. _Wow, only one hit?_ Luke knocks Chris into a Christmas display and Chris finally gets a hit in, tackling Luke. They both hit the ground and wrestle a bit until Chris pushes Luke off him. Then, they both get up and wrestle some more until Luke gets the upper hand and punches Christopher, twice. After a few seconds, Chris gets up and charges at Luke. They knock over a Christmas tree. "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" begins to play. They wrestle a bit more then get up and circle each other. "Deck the Halls" is now playing. They glare at each for a few seconds before leaving. _I think I won._ Luke tells himself. _But he still has Lorelai, so I didn't really win._


	8. Chapter 8

Luke's lawyer tells him that a character reference will really help his case. He asks Liz to write one and she does, but when Luke shows it to his lawyer, he tells him that it's sweet but, it's filled with things about his childhood which won't exactly help him with the case. Luke thinks about who else he could ask to write a character reference. _Jess? No he might not be able to convince anyone that I'm a good role model or parent. Who knows me better than anyone? Lorelai. Or at least she did. It won't hurt to ask her, what is there to lose?_

Luke drives to the dragonfly to meet with Lorelai. He doesn't think to call first. He asks Michel if Lorelai is there and Michel calls someone to tell Lorelai that someone is here to see her. It's awkward for a few seconds until Lorelai shows up.  
"Hi." She greets Luke.

Luke tells her he's sorry to just barge in like this, but Lorelai says it's okay. He asks if they can talk somewhere.  
"Um, sure." Lorelai replies.

They go to the library and sit on the couch. Luke tells her the situation, that Anna is moving April to New Mexico, that he has to fight for custody in order to see April. He tells Lorelai that the court date is coming up; that he'll need a character reference since the one Liz wrote isn't good.  
"And I need another one, and I just don't know who to go to and I know it's an awful lot to ask. And if it's weird or whatever…"

"Yes." Lorelai tells him, but he doesn't hear her.

"I mean I totally understand." Luke says.

"Yes." Lorelai says again.

"But if you could, uh…" Luke continues

"Yes I'll do it." Lorelai tells him again and he finally realizes she agreed to do it.

Luke raises his eyebrows at her, surprised, "Yeah? Okay. Alright, well…" He takes the paper with his lawyer's address on it out of his pocket and hands it to her. "This is my lawyer's address, and you can just mail the letter directly to him."

"Okay." Lorelai replies. Their eyes meet. Luke looks away.

"Yeah, and, look, if you don't mind." He looks back at her. …"if you could do it as soon as possible…" Lorelai nods. "I mean the court date's right around the corner." He finishes.

"Definitely." Lorelai answers.

"Thanks. Thank you." Luke thanks her twice and quickly touches her hand gently without thinking first, then immediately pulls his hand away.

"You're welcome." Lorelai tells him.

Luke looks away, feeling nervous all of a sudden. It's hard to look at her without being able to touch her. "Yeah. Um, okay, well…I'll just…thanks." He thanks her again, not knowing what else to say. He stands up as Lorelai tells him she'll get right on it.

"Okay, alright." Luke mutters. He holds out his hand to her. She shakes it. "Thanks." He says again before leaving.

He had wanted to hug her… just to see what it would feel like after all this time, and to thank her, but a handshake was more appropriate for the situation. She's a married woman after all.

The next day, April surprises Luke by showing up at the diner. He's so happy to see her. He opens his arms and she hugs him. He asks if Anna knows that she's here. April tells him that Anna has no clue that she lied about where she is. _No, this isn't good. April lying to her mother will only make Anna angrier._ Luke tells April that he'll have to take her home. April protests: "Dad, no. Please, no. I've missed you so much."

He's missed her too and he tells her this, but it's still not right for her to be here without Anna knowing. April hands him a gift, a belated Christmas present, she says. He takes it and tells her that he got her something too. He gives in and decides to let her stay for a few hours.

Later, in the apartment, he tries to sell April on the idea that New Mexico won't be so bad. But, April just puts negative spins on his comments, so he gives up and gives her Christmas present to her. It's a rock polisher, a present that she hinted at wanting a couple months ago, but she informs him that her grandmother already bought her a rock polisher. She tries not to hurt his feelings by telling him that she could use two of them. But he offers to exchange it and get her a new present.

They go a mall in Hartford, and Luke is surprised when they run into Lorelai and Rory there. Luke asks Lorelai how it's going. She thinks he's talking about the letter, but he meant just in general.

"Good. I'm good. We're good." Lorelai tells Luke and he's happy to hear it. After Luke exchanges the rock polisher for a microscope and hands the bag to April, Lorelai asks what she got. April brags a little, telling them Luke gave her the greatest present ever. Luke smiles, happy that April is happy.

"My dad's always been a great gift giver." April tells them.

"I don't know if I was always considered good at picking out presents, right, Rory?" Luke asks Rory, remembering all the presents he bought her over the years.

They discuss the various presents that Luke bought Rory over the years, including many monogrammed items. April gets a kick out of it. Rory continues telling April about Luke, telling her that he was so nice, he never forgot her birthday and made sure that she got a present every holiday. Luke smiles at Rory, remembering the good times. His gaze shifts over to Lorelai for a second and he notices that she's also smiling. He feels at ease with them, he's always seen them as sort of a second family. Rory was sort of like a daughter to him and he loves her. Lorelai was a great friend and the only woman he really fell in love with. It's was nice to see them and not feel uncomfortable or angry. And they seemed to be happy. _That's good, they're fine without you. It's alright that they seem happy with Christopher in their life. At least you had them in your life for all those years._ Luke tells himself, coming to the conclusion that he and Lorelai may be able to be friends again someday.

When they get back form Hartford, April tries to come up with a plan to see him without telling Anna. He shuts down the idea right away, telling her it wouldn't be right to lie to Anna. He tells her not to worry, because hopefully the court will see his side of things. Hopefully, he can see his daughter again soon. He hugs her goodbye, holding her close. He can't lose her too.


	9. Chapter 9

As Luke sits on the bench outside the court room, he tries to remain calm. He's worried that he'll get nothing he wants and he'll never see April again. Anna shows up and sits next to him. She says this is a waste of time, Luke agrees, but then Anna says there's no reason for it. Luke tells her that he had to hire a lawyer, it was the only way he could see his daughter.  
"You really think you have a chance?" Anna asks.

"Yeah, well, that's for a judge to decide." Luke responds.

Anna mocks him, calling him a hermit who lives above a diner. "It doesn't exactly paint a picture of "capable father." She says snidely.

"It doesn't matter where I live, and I have been nothing but a good father to April." He tells her.

Anna replies by commenting on his bad history with women, saying he bailed on Lorelai and got divorced in a heartbeat.

"I did not bail on Lorelai." He tells her blatantly. _Lorelai is the one who decided to run to Christopher after giving me an ultimatum._

"You have had no long-term relationships, Luke. Why would a judge trust you to have one with April?" Anna replies.

Before Luke can think of a response to that, Anna's lawyer arrives and they go in the court room. Anna's lawyer tries to state her case by declaring the fact that Luke hasn't spent much time with April. Luke's lawyer counters with the fact that Luke made himself available to April as often as she liked. _Yeah, I even spent less time with Lorelai and pushed her away so that I could get to know April…_ Luke points out the fact that Anna had no intention of letting him know he had a daughter. The judge tells both Anna and Luke to let their attorneys speak for them.

However, once Anna's lawyer starts harping on Luke's history, he knows he has to speak up, even if his lawyer or the judge tries to stop him. Luke admits that he's made some mistakes and he may be seen as a hermit, but he tells them that all he wants is to be with April and be her dad, because he knows he will be a good dad. The judge tells him to be quiet and his lawyer apologizes for him. _I'm just trying my best to be a good father. That's all. April is all that matters right now._

After that, the judge reads Lorelai's character reference and Luke doesn't take his eyes off her as he hears the words that Lorelai wrote for him:

"To whom it may concern, In the nearly 10 years that I have known Luke Danes, I have come to know him as an honest and decent man. He's also one of the most kind and caring persons I have ever met. I'm a single mother, and I raised my daughter by myself, but once Luke Danes became my friend in this town, I never really felt alone. Luke and I have had our ups and downs over the years, but through it all, his relationship with my daughter, Rory, has never changed. He's always been there for her no matter what. He was there to celebrate her birthdays. He was there cheering her on at her high school graduation. Luke has been a sort of father figure in my daughter's life. With his own daughter, Luke wasn't given the opportunity to be there for her first 12 years, but he should be given that opportunity now. Once Luke Danes is in your life, he is in your life forever. I know from personal experience what an amazing gift that is, and not to allow him access to his daughter would be to seriously deprive her of all this man has to offer, and he offers so much. Thank you for your time. Sincerely,

Lorelai Gilmore."

Luke is amazed. He feels chocked up, feels tears welling up in his eyes. _Wow. She wrote all that about me after everything that's happened?_ Luke doesn't know what to think. He's completely at a loss. He can't help wondering if Lorelai still loves him too.

After a night of almost no sleep, Luke's lawyer calls him with best news. He was awarded shared custody. After he gets off the phone with him, he calls Lorelai, wanting to share the news with her. After all, he probably wouldn't be here without her help. He tells Lorelai that her letter was a big help, which is an understatement, but he didn't know how else to put it. Lorelai tells him that she just wanted to help him and April. Luke tells her how grateful he is. She congratulates him and they hang up. Luke can't keep the smile off his face; he gets to keep his daughter in his life, and it's all thanks to Lorelai, the one woman who he will always love, no matter what. 


	10. Chapter 10

Later that afternoon, Babette tells Luke that Richard has had a heart attack. Luke is shocked; he asks if Richard is okay. Babette says that she thinks he's okay but she isn't sure. Luke thanks Babette for telling him. He decides to go to the hospital to see if he can help Lorelai or Rory or Emily in anyway. Lorelai was there when April was sick, so Luke figures the least he could do is be there, to show he still cares.

Luke tells Caesar and Zach to look after the diner while he's gone and drives to the hospital. He tries to get information from the reception desk, but they can't give him any since he's not family. But, the women behind the desks points down the hall, and sure enough, there is Lorelai, Emily, Rory and Logan. He walks over to them and tells Lorelai that Babette told him that Richard had a heart attack.  
"I just walked right out of the diner and drove straight here. Now that I'm here I realize I might be in the way, but if there's anything I can do, I want to do it." He tells Lorelai and he notices that she smiled at him.

Luke says he doesn't want to cause any weirdness with Chris; Lorelai informs him that Chris isn't there, but he should be soon.

"Okay, I'll just get out of here." Luke replies, not wanting to cause any trouble.

Emily tells Luke that he can pick up Richard's car from Yale. Lorelai protests, "Mom, he can't do that." But Luke says it's no problem. He just wants to help any way he can. Lorelai protests again, but Luke tells her: "Seriously. It's no problem." And when Emily offers to pay him, he rejects the money, "Thanks, really, really, it's my pleasure." Lorelai thanks him before he leaves and he just nods. He just wants to help her in her time of need, like she did for him.

Luke returns to the hospital with food from the diner a few hours later. He decides to leave the food at the reception desk, but Lorelai come up behind him.  
"Hey, you're back."

"Oh. Hey. I just didn't want to bug you. I just wanted to drop some food off for you guys and get going."

"Luke, you didn't have to do that." Lorelai says.

"No it's all right. I… just wanted to make some stuff anyway so… alright, I'm gonna get out of here now." He lies about the food, he only made for them. He looks away, felling a bit awkward about the situation. But he looks back at her when she tells him that Richard is okay and the surgery went well.

"Oh, that's terrific. That is such good news." Luke says, meaning every word. After experiencing losing his own dad, he can't imagine how Lorelai or Rory would cope with it.

"He's doing really well; they think he'll be able to go home in a couple days." Lorelai tells him.

"Oh, that's so good… yeah. So, how's he looking?" Luke asks, concerned.

"Um…he looks good…big…tall." She says with a smile.

Luke is happy to see her smile at a time like this. He's missed her smile. "That's good. Yeah, he's tall. He's a big man." Luke says, remembering golfing with Richard a couple years ago.

"He's a big, tall man." Lorelai smiles again and Luke smiles back. He tells her all the food he brought, including fish for Richard since Emily and Lorelai mentioned something about fish earlier. Christopher shows up suddenly, Luke wonders why he wasn't here earlier. _Your wife's father had a heart attack and you weren't here to support her? You weren't here to offer her a shoulder to cry on?_

"All right, I'm gonna get going." Luke says, knowing that it wouldn't be right to stay.

"Yeah, you should." Christopher tells him. Luke glares at him. _You're gonna say that to me after I was here and you weren't?_

Luke turns his gaze to Lorelai, "I'm glad your dad's doing good." He tells her before leaving.


	11. Chapter 11

A couple days later, Luke looks out the window and sees Lorelai standing alone outside. He waves at her and she waves back then turns around and walks away. He wonders why she didn't come in. She hasn't been to the diner since they broke up. He wishes she would come in, because he would like to try to at least be friends with her again. As long as she doesn't bring Christopher with her, he'd be happy to see her come back to the diner.

A few days after that, he hears people in the diner gossiping. Apparently, Christopher moved out and he and Lorelai are getting a divorce. Although Luke feels a little delighted about that news, he also wonders how Lorelai is feeling. He knows how it feels to be divorced. Although, he and Nicole got a little rash and rushed into marriage, Luke fells like he was somewhat of a failure. Maybe if he had tried harder to work things out, Nicole wouldn't have cheated on him.

When Liz and T.J. hear about Lorelai's divorce, they both have different opinions on what Luke should do. "The plot thickens." Liz says.  
"The plot does not thicken, okay? We're friends… that's all. I just went out when I heard her dad was sick." Luke informs her, even though he's not sure that he and Lorelai are exactly friends right now. T.J. tells Luke he doesn't think they should get back together.  
"Nobody's talking about getting back together with her." Luke replies. _There's no way she wants to get back together. Especially not so soon after breaking up with Christopher._

Liz asks Luke if he has asked Lorelai how Richard is doing. He hasn't. He wasn't sure if it would be a good idea. T.J. tells him not to call her. Luke gets a little mad; Liz and T.J. shouldn't be concerned with _his_ relationship. _It's my choice what to do. Mine alone._

Liz and T.J. talk about Luke when they think he's asleep that night. Liz asks T.J. if he thinks Luke is lonely.  
"He does look a little lonely around the eyes." T.J. responds.

"I think he's lovesick over Lorelai." Liz says. _I am not lovesick… I just miss her sometimes._

"I just think that he might be better off lonely." T.J. tells Liz.

"I think they belong together." Liz replies. _You didn't think that before._ T.J. points this out and Liz says something about wormholes. After Liz and T.J. leave, Luke lets out a sigh of relief. Although he loves Liz, and T.J. isn't so bad, the apartment wasn't meant to have three adults and a baby living in it. Luke is also relieved that he doesn't have to discuss his relationship with Lorelai with anyone. He stares at the phone and debates whether or not to call Lorelai. After thinking about it for a couple minutes, he decides to call. After a few rings, the call goes to voicemail.

Before he can talk himself out it, he leaves a quick message:

"Hey Lorelai, um it's Luke. I was just wondering how your dad is doing. Um you don't have to call me back if it's inconvenient or anything … okay… bye."

A few weeks later, Zach reminds Luke that he didn't RSVP to Lane's baby shower. Luke tells Zach he'll think about coming. He isn't sure if it would be a good idea to go since Lorelai would probably be going and it might be awkward. Lorelai never called Luke back, but he figures that she might just be too busy, but she could also not want to talk to him. Kirk mentions that there's an ad for a boat in the paper. He says the address of the place that's selling it and Luke recognizes it immediately. He looks at the ad and realizes that it's his boat; Liz and T.J. want to sell _his_ boat.

Luke accuses Liz and T.J. of trying to sell the boat without his permission. They deny it, saying that were just trying to see if they'd get an offer first before telling Luke. They want the space in their garage for Liz's jewelry business. Luke tells them that he isn't selling the boat. Liz says a little change can be a good thing.  
"My boat, my decision. I'm not selling it. Alright?" Luke tells her.  
 _Maybe sometimes a little change can be good, but it's too hard to let go of the boat. Letting go of the boat would be letting go of another piece of Dad._  
Luke remembers when Lorelai bought the boat and kept it in her garage for him. At first he was angry that she had bought it even though he said he wanted it gone. Then he realized that she had thought he would regret giving it away, and he realized she was right. Lorelai understood him; she could read him like a book. This was one of the many reasons he loved her. _If only I could have noticed how she felt about the whole April situation. She could tell how I was feeling, why couldn't I read her that well? If we were still together, the boat could still be in her garage._

When Luke talks to April on the phone, he offers to take her to Disneyworld when she visits in the summer. April says she can't imagine him at Disneyworld. She says she's fine just hanging out in the diner. Luke's a little upset as he thought she would want to have a little more fun in the summer. But, he figures it doesn't matter what they do as long as they enjoy spending time together. However, maybe a little change _would_ be good. It would be good to get out of Stars Hollow at least once.

He decides to sell the boat to Kirk and buy a newer, better one. _I'm never going to use it. It's better to move on than to hang on to the past._ Luke tells himself. He decides to go to the baby shower. He finds Lorelai standing outside Miss Patty's.  
"What's this I hear about Kirk buying your boat?" She asks him.

When he tells Lorelai that he bought a new boat, she seems surprised. He tells her his plans to take it out on little trips with April in the summer.

"Luke, that sounds really nice." She tells him. Then, "God, I can't believe you bought a boat in a day. It used to take you a week to buy a t-shirt."

"Yeah, well, things change." Luke replies frankly. She looks at him and he looks back until he feels a little uneasy. "I'll see you inside?" He asks and she just mutters: "Mm-hmm."  
 _I guess I was hinting at the fact that we both changed into different people in the past year. She stopped sharing her feelings and I stopped letting her in._


	12. Chapter 12

A few weeks later, Lane and Zach invite Luke over for dinner. It's a nice evening; Lane and Zach are nice kids and they tell Luke that they feel really close to him, he says he feels the same way. But Luke wonders why they invited him over in the first place; they mention that they don't have much family. Luke asks if they need money, thinking that they're having financial problems.  
"Lane and I would like you to be Godfather to our twins." Zach tells Luke.

Luke is surprised, "Oh really? Godfather?"

"We just want to make sure we have a strong, parental person for our boys." Lane says.

Luke isn't sure. He doesn't really see himself as a being a good parental figure. He's only been with April for a year and a bit. _Lorelai would probably be better for the role, she's a great mother. But, they're asking me so they must feel like I'm the right person._

"Yeah, okay, sure." Luke agrees.

The next day, the diner is busy and Luke notices that Zach is really talkative, he seems to be nervous. Luke pulls him aside and tells him not to worry about becoming a father.  
"Listen, the first time April turned up in my life, I didn't know squat about being a father, but eventually, it came to me." He tells Zach, remembering how overwhelmed he felt at the time. But after a few months, he really started to enjoy being a father; it had become a rewarding experience for him. "Okay I found my dad mode, and you will too." He tries to convince Zach. _At least you get to bond with your kids from birth; I didn't meet mine until she was twelve._ Luke thinks, still a little bitter about the fact that Anna kept April from him.

That night, Lane calls and tells Zach that her water broke. Zach freaks out and Luke realizes he needs to take charge. He offers to drive. Hours later, Lane delivers the twins. Zach comes out to the waiting room and asks Luke if he wants to hold one of the babies.

"Oh, no, that's okay. You two should spend time with them, bond with them. I should be getting home." Luke says.

"Come on, I'm sure they want to meet their Godfather. And don't use the excuse that you don't like babies, I've seen you with Doula." Zach replies.

"Okay, fine." Luke agrees. He follows Zach to Lane's room. Lane is in the hospital bed, holding one baby and Mrs. Kim is sitting in a chair, holding the other one.

"That's Steve." Zach points to the baby Mrs. Kim is holding. "And that's Kwan." He points to the one Lane is holding. Zach walks over to the bed and takes Kwan from Lane. Luke sits down in the chair next to Mrs. Kim.

"Here you go, Kwan. Meet your Godfather." Zach says as he carefully passes Kwan to Luke. Luke looks down at Kwan and smiles a little. He has the same thought he had when Lorelai met Doula. _This could have been our baby. Lorelai and I…_ we _might have even had twins, like in that dream she told me she had._

A few weeks later, April comes to visit for spring break. She brings back a bracelet for Luke and although, he doesn't really like it, he wears it anyway. He wears it because he loves April and he wouldn't want to see her upset if he told her that jewelry isn't really his thing. The next day, Luke takes April to the town meeting. When April sees Lorelai come in, she practically runs over to her to hug her. Luke is surprised; they only saw each other twice in the past year, when Lorelai "met" her and at her birthday party. He's shocked that April is so friendly with Lorelai, but he's happy to see that they get along. He knows Lorelai cares about April, since she seemed to be worried when April had her appendix removed. _Maybe I shouldn't have kept them apart._ He thinks. Lorelai asks Luke how the diner is. He tells her it's the same as ever. _I just wish you would come in for coffee someday._

The day after that, while on his way to find Zach to give him an order he forgot, he runs into Lorelai in the hay maze. Lorelai gasps when she notices the bracelet.  
"Oh! April gave it to me." He explains.

Lorelai seems amused, "You have a bracelet on your wrist."

Luke laughs, "It's just one of those crazy phases. I was just getting used to the fact that I had a daughter. Now all of a sudden, I have a teenager. It's wild. Time just goes by." He says aimlessly.

"Luke." Lorelai says, clearly wanting to get his attention.

"Yeah," He responds.

"I'm sorry." She says, looking directly at him.

He looks down for a second then looks back at her. He knows what she's apologizing for. "Yeah, I'm, uh… I'm sorry too." He says in a low voice.

"No, no let me go first." Lorelai says.

"Okay." He agrees.

"I messed up. That night I went to Christopher… I'm sorry." She keeps eye contact with him.

He doesn't take look away either, he whispers "Yeah." He can tell that she's sincere and he appreciates it.

"I mean I never admitted it to you that it was wrong what I did, and it was, and I'm really sorry." She tells him.

"Okay. Thanks." He says with a small nod, accepting her apology.

Lorelai sighs and admits that she doesn't know why she didn't say that before.

"Ah, you know…" Luke says, looking away again, thinking. _I need to apologise too._ "I'm sorry, too, 'cause… I don't know, it's just… now that I've had April it's… you know, I've learned a lot, and I… I was crazy to think that I had to fix everything in my relationship with April before I could really be with you. And that's just not how you fix things. I mean things just don't stand still. They're always changing." He admits.

"Yeah," Lorelai replies.

Luke continues, "I guess I was… compartmentalizing? If that's what you call it. I mean I should have opened my compartments. I should have gotten your help."

"I wanted to help." Lorelai tells him.

"I know." He sighs, sorry that he hurt her. "And I'm sorry. And I'm sorry, also, because I think I kind of used April to push you away." He admits, coming to this realization himself.

"You did, huh?" Lorelai asks.

"Yeah, I think so. I was afraid, and…" He loses his train of thought. "I'm so sorry." He feels the need to apologize one more time.

Lorelai smiles at him, "It's really okay." She says. Luke is comforted by her smile and he smiles back.

"I'm glad." He tells her sincerely.

"Me too," She replies with a small nod and another smile.

"Well, I got some fries that are getting cold." He says, remembering them suddenly.

"Oh, yeah, well, I got to find my way out of here." She tells him.

"By the way, you're really close. Just go left, two rights, and you're out." He gives her the directions.

"Thanks." She replies with a grin. Luke just nods a little and she walks away. Luke walks a little farther into the maze before stopping. _That was… okay. We didn't shout or get angry at each other. It was good that we both apologized. We both were able to admit that we made mistakes. Hopefully, now or sometime soon we can go back to being friends. I'd like that._

Author's note: Thank you for reading, reviewing and following this story.


	13. Chapter 13

Not too long after that, Lorelai comes into the diner. Once he hears Kirk babbling about his seat, Luke turns around and sees Lorelai sitting at the counter. Luke is a little surprised, but he's happy that she's there.  
"Hey." Lorelai greets Luke.

"Hey… coffee?" Luke asks, pausing because he feels strange. _It's weird to see her here again after so many months. But it's nice that she's back._

"Yes please." Lorelai replies.

Luke turns to get the coffee then stops, "Ah to stay or to go?" He asks her; worried that she only wants to get coffee and leave.

"Um… to stay." Lorelai responds with small smile.

"Good, okay." Luke says.

As he prepares Lorelai's coffee, Luke overhears Miss Patty and Babette telling Lorelai it's nice to see her back in the diner, Babette says that it's been a long time. Kirk states that he marked down the date of the last time Lorelai was here, but Luke doesn't want Lorelai to feel bad.  
"Enough, Kirk." Luke says to get him to shut up. "Here you go." He sets Lorelai's coffee on the counter.

"Thank you." Lorelai says and Luke looks away and exhales loudly, suddenly feeling awkward.

"So, how's it going?" He asks Lorelai.

"Oh, really well, the Inn is really busy. "

"Yeah I'll bet." He replies, not knowing what else to say.

"And… so how are you doing?" She asks with a friendly grin.

"Me? Good, really good." He replies.

"Good." Lorelai looks down and nods.

"Yeah." He says softly, not looking her in the eye. _This is awkward… I didn't think it would be this bad…_

"Um, it sure is warm outside." Lorelai says, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah, you know when I opened the diner this morning; I remember thinking how warm it was." _Nice. Going along with her subject change to the weather…_

"Really?" Lorelai asks with a smile, like she can't believe it.

"Yeah." He looks away, feeling uncomfortable. _Damn it. It wasn't supposed to be like this…_

Lorelai breaks the silence once again, "You know what, um maybe I should take this to go. To get back to work and…"

"Yeah, okay let me just get you a cup." He responds immediately, wanting the awkwardness to end.

"It's been really busy at the Inn." She mentions again.

"Yeah. Yeah you said…" He hands her the to-go cup. "Alright there you go."

He watches her pour the coffee into the cup and he puts the lid on when she's done. She starts to reach into her purse for money, but he stops her. "Nah, I got it." He tells her.

"Thanks."

"Okay, so I'll see you around." He says, hoping that she won't avoid the diner again.

"Definitely, see you around. Okay." She replies and she gets up and walks out.

Once she's outside, Luke lets out a sigh, disappointed that her first time back in the diner didn't go so well. _Well, maybe next time won't be so bad._ He tells himself.

A few days later, Lorelai calls him. She asks for a favor, telling him that her car is shot and she doesn't know anything about it… he tells her he'll come with her to help pick out a new car, today. She says it doesn't have to be today, but he says it's no problem; the diner's hasn't been very busy today. They agree to meet later that day. _Maybe this will help us get back to…us._ Luke is happy that she asked for his help.

On the way to the car lot, they talk, but it's still awkward. Although the radio in the truck doesn't work very well, Luke turns it on and tries to find a station that isn't so static-y. He thought it would at least be a little less awkward without everyone in the diner around them, but he was wrong. But he doesn't bail on her or anything, he said he would help her and he will.

About an hour and a few cars later, it was clear to Luke that Lorelai had no idea what she wanted. He tells her that she should take her time, he doesn't want to scare her by telling her to hurry up and pick a car. Lorelai says that he's not rushing her.  
"Good, because you know, I've got plenty of time." He tells her. It's true, but he wonders if it's a good thing that she taking so long to find a car. Maybe it will give them more time to feel more comfortable around each other, he thinks.

At the sale's man's suggestion, they walk across the lot to see other models. Luke sees a Jeep and tells Lorelai she should look at it. She spends a few minutes sitting in the Jeep.  
"It's different." She claims.

"It's not different. It's just a new model." He tells her.

Lorelai lists the differences. Luke says that they're just improvements. Lorelai claims that they made some changes with the newer model. "Improvements." Luke says, a little angry.

"What exactly is bugging you?" He asks, wondering why she won't accept that the new Jeep is better than her older one.

"It's not bugging me per se. It's just different. I don't get that feeling." She tells him.

"Oh, for God's sake." Luke mutters, frustrated with her logic about buying a car based on a "feeling."  
"You're being ridiculous." He tells her.

"Why?" She asks.

"You don't buy a car based on a feeling." He replies, annoyed.

"No **you** don't buy a car based on a feeling." Lorelai replies as she gets out of the Jeep.

"It's not just me; it's the whole rest of the population." He tells her, needing to tell that he's right.

Lorelai mocks him by asking if he took a poll to find out how everyone buys their car. He responds by telling her that he doesn't have to take a poll, he already knows what people are going to say. _No one buys a car the Lorelai Gilmore way._ He thinks.

"Well, I am the person buying the car, and so the only opinion that matters is mine." Lorelai tells him.

He glares at her, "Oh that is so like you. I mean this is bathroom tiles all over again." He says, frustrated, remembering how she claimed that the tile was too big for the bathroom.

"I was right about the tile." Lorelai answers.

"No, you weren't." He disagrees. _I was definitely right about that._

"The tile was too big for the bathroom." She tells him.

He sets her straight, "Tiles are not too big for a bathroom. You buy the amount of tiles based on their size that fit into the room you are tiling!"

He continues on a rant about her opinion on cars, completely frustrated with her.

"You know what I think it is? That you're hungry." Lorelai says suddenly.

"What? No!" Luke responds, wondering how she came to that conclusion.

"Sometimes you get like this when you're hungry." She tells him.

"I'm not." He tells her.

"I think I have some cookies in here, some Oreos." She begins looking through her purse.

"I'm not, and besides, I wouldn't eat anything that came out of that bag." He mutters. _Knowing her, she hasn't cleaned it out in a long time._

Lorelai pulls the Oreos out and tells him, "They're in a wrapper."

"I can't believe you still haven't cleaned that thing out." He says, gesturing to her purse.

"Please." Lorelai mutters.

"How much time do you lose a day looking through that thing? Five, ten minutes? Multiply that by year. I bet you'd gain a month if you just took an hour and cleaned it out, but no…" he stops and looks at her to see that she's smiling at him. "What?" He asks.

"Nothing." She says, giggling a little.

"You're smiling." He tells her.

"What? No. You've got low blood sugar." She looks back down at her bag.

"I do not have…" He stops himself before he can waste his time by yelling at her. "Okay, are you gonna buy a car or not?" He asks, lowering his voice.

She took a couple seconds to respond, "Not."

"Okay can we get out of here, then?" He asks, done with his patience with her.

"Gladly," She replies.

She starts walking away and he follows. "We're not listening to any of that crap on the radio." He tells her, so done with her.

She says it's not crap, it's Air Supply. He sighs and she tells him that he needs a milkshake.  
"We're not stopping for a milkshake." He tells her

"Let's rock, paper scissors." She holds out her hand.

"No, no, no." He tells her.

"So, you forfeit?" She asks.

Luke ignores her and moves around her to open the door of the truck. He gently guides her in the truck, holding his hand to her back. "We're not stopping." He tells her repeatedly.

They end up stopping at a drive thru. After all this time, he still has a hard time saying no to her. He gets her a milkshake and gets himself a smoothie, as it's healthier. During the drive back to Stars Hollow, they talk, falling back into their normal banter.

Luke decides to try to find a car for her online to save the trouble of going to another car lot. He uses Kirk's computer and Zach shows him a website. After about a half hour, he finds a 1999 Jeep wrangler. He goes to see the owner and check out the Jeep. It seems like it's in good shape, so he runs the VIN number and it's got a clean history. He also takes it for a test ride to make sure it's okay. He tells the owner, Larry, that his friend should be interested in buying the Jeep. He negotiates a price with Larry and calls Gypsy to let her know that Lorelai will probably want her to move the engine from the new car to Lorelai's old car. Then he goes to Lorelai's house to tell her all this.

Lorelai seems pleased. Luke gives her Larry's number and tells her to call him and tell him that she's "Lorelai, Luke's friend." He says, sincerely, and it feels nice to be able to call her a friend again.

"It's still a completely ridiculous idea." He tells her.

"I know." She responds with a smile that made him feel at ease. He starts to walk away, and then remembers that she's been riding her bike around town for the past few days. He tells her to bring the bike to the diner so he can put air in the tires.

"I don't need air in my tires." She calls out after him.

He turns slightly and says "You need air, and you need a light so people know you're coming."

"What if I don't want people to know I'm coming?" She yells back as he gets to the truck.

"I'm putting on a bell!" He yells back.

"No you're not!" She shouts back.

Luke gets in to the truck and yells back: "What do you have against bells?"

"I don't like 'em." She tells him.

"You don't have to like them, they're a safety feature." He shakes his head. _Unbelievable, I just want her to be safe._

"I want a horn!" She yells.

"Fine you want a horn; I'll get you a horn. Are you happy?" He asks. He can barely see her nod from so far away. "Jeez." He mutters. He looks at her one last time before starting the truck and backing out of the driveway.

 _Well, at least she's happy. And now, I think we can go back to being friends._ He feels relieved to have her back in his daily life. Luke smiles to himself as memories of her smile flood his mind.


	14. Chapter 14

When Luke briefly takes off his black hat one day, he loses it. He doesn't waste time looking for it, he opens his closet and finds the old blue one, the one Lorelai gave him. He wears that one and he can't help but notice Lorelai staring at him when she first sees him wearing it.  
"What?" He asks her.

"What?" She asks back.

"What?" He asks again, wondering what she's thinking.

"Nothing," She replies.

"Okay." He says, deciding to let it go.

"I'm just getting some coffee." Lorelai says.

"To go?" Luke asks.

"Yep," She replies.

"Coming right up," He walks back to the counter and she follows him.

Lorelai notices the travel books that Luke left on the counter. They talk about the boat trip. Lorelai wonders if April is really excited about the boat trip. She advises that Luke plan a couple night's stay in a hotel so that April can be more comfortable. He agrees to book a hotel and go to the restaurant that she suggests.

The next day, Lorelai and Rory come to the diner. When Rory steps outside to answer her phone, Luke walks over to their table.  
"How's she holding up?" He asks Lorelai as he sits on a nearby stool.

"Oh, she's okay. Rory's used to getting what Rory wants." Lorelai answers.

"Yeah? I know. How you doing?" Luke asks.

"Me? I'm fine." Lorelai seems surprised that he asked.

"Yeah?"

Lorelai nods and asks how the trip-planning is coming. Luke tells her that he took her suggestion and booked a couple of hotels and made a reservation at the restaurant.

"Rory and I are gonna go see Patty and Babette's act at K.C.'s tonight. It should be a hoot." Lorelai tells him.

He thinks that she's inviting him. "You know, not really my thing."

Lorelai's smile drops, "Yeah. No. I'm not saying…"

"No, I know." He tells her. They both laugh a little.

"Just we're going, but, you know." She says.

"Well, if I have some free time I'll…" He says, hoping that she will ask him to come.

"No, no, no… yeah." Lorelai mutters.

"Order up, Luke." Caesar yells, interrupting.

"I should probably…" Luke gestures to the kitchen.

"Yeah,"

"Can I get you anything else?" He asks.

"A doggie bag."

"I'll take care of it." He tells her and he goes off to get one.

After Lorelai and Rory leave, April calls. She tells Luke that she got into a science camp.

"Wow, April. Congratulations. That's terrific." He says and he means it, he's proud of her.

"The only problem is its six weeks, and its right during our boat trip." April tells him. She says she's torn between wanting to go on the trip with him and wanting to go to the camp.

"It's too good of an opportunity to pass up." He tells her, he can tell she's really excited about the camp and he doesn't want her to feel obligated to go on the trip.

"Are you sure?" April asks.

"Absolutely," Luke tells her.

April says that she can still spend the last two weeks of summer with him.

"Well then that's great. We'll take a little trip somewhere."

"Yeah, definitely." April replies.

"I am so proud of you, kid." Luke says sincerely.

"Thanks, Dad." April says and he can hear the smile in her voice. "Um, I'm gonna tell Mom that we talked, okay?"

"Okay. I'll call you later."

"Love you."

"Love you too." Luke says and he hangs up. He sighs. He was looking forward to spending time with April, and he can't help but feel a little sad that their plans had to change. _But I couldn't let her miss out on that opportunity._ He tells himself.

Later, Lane and Zach ask Luke if he's coming to K.C's.

"Ah. I don't think so." He tells them. They both urge him to come, but Luke just says maybe he'll come later. After Lane and Zach leave, Luke thinks about going to K.C.'s. He decides to go since there are no customers at the diner and there's nothing to do in his apartment. He locks up the diner and walks over to K.C's.

He sees Lorelai singing on the stage as he walks in. When she looks at him, he gives her a smile and a nod as a greeting. He gets to the bar and orders a beer. As soon as he takes the beer he looks back to Lorelai to find she's looking at him. He listens to the words of the song. He smiles as she sings "I will always love you." She still holds his gaze and he realizes that she's singing to him. He listens to the words, "I wish you love." Luke feels tears welling up in his eyes all of a sudden. The last time he could remember crying was the day his father died. He looks down, overcome with emotions. "I will always love you." He hears Lorelai sing. _I'll always love you too._ Luke thinks. He swallows and blinks back his tears. He looks up to find her still looking at him. Luke doesn't take his eyes off her as the finishes the song. She gives a small smile and shrugs, almost as if to say: "I can't help it, I still love you." Everyone applauds Lorelai and Luke stands there and smiles to himself then looks down. He turns back to the bar and picks up his beer and takes a sip.

The next day, Zach gives Luke his black hat, telling him that he found it behind the dishwasher. Luke stares at the hat then decides that he wants to keep the blue one on. He tucks the black on into his back pocket and smiles. He's forgiven Lorelai and he still loves her, the blue hat shows that. _I'm ready to try again if she is._

Author's note: Thank you for reading. Please feel free to leave a review. 


	15. Chapter 15

Rory was graduating from Yale. Luke couldn't believe it. He had watched her grow up for the past ten years. She wasn't his daughter, but she was going to be his stepdaughter. He felt proud of her and he felt like he should get her a simple graduation gift to show her that, to say congratulations. He decided to get her some earrings that Liz made. When he goes to pick out a pair, Liz mentions that she heard about Lorelai's karaoke "serenade."

"It wasn't a serenade." Luke tells her. He hasn't seen Lorelai since that night, and he isn't sure what the song meant to her. He didn't want the town to gossip about it if it meant nothing to Lorelai.

"So what have you done?" Liz asks.

"What do you mean, what have I done?" Luke is confused about what she's asking.

"About the love serenade," Liz replies.

"It wasn't a serenade, and I haven't done anything. I've worked real hard to try and get that stupid song out of my head." Luke tells her.

"Aren't you going to respond in some way?" Liz asks.

"Well there's nothing to respond to. She drank a truckload of tequila, and she sang a sappy song." Luke says, trying convincing himself that she only sang to him because she was drunk and not thinking straight.

"I will always love you is not a sappy song. It's classic Cyndi Lauper." Liz tells Luke.

"Whitney Houston." Luke replies, remembering the actual singer of the song.

"Doesn't matter, the point is, she will **always** love you." Liz says.

"I **heard** the song." Luke tells her, he wishes Liz would drop the topic.

"She's waiting for you to make a move." Liz tells him.

Luke knows he needs to set her straight, "Look if it had meant something, she would have come in, you know. What do you think of these?" He asks about a pair of earrings.

Liz says Rory will love those. He hands the earring to Liz, but she doesn't change the subject, "Look, all I'm saying is, from everything I've heard and know, Lorelai would like you to respond. I mean Crazy Carrie was there, and she said that Lorelai definitely gave you the love look."

"I wouldn't trust information coming from a woman who wears a cardboard hat. You got a box for those?" He adds, still wanting Liz to stop talking about Lorelai.

"I certainly do." Liz replies.

Luke looks at the other jewelry and spots a necklace. The color of it reminds him of Lorelai's eyes. "You like that?" Liz asks.

"Yeah, well it's nice." Luke responds, he doesn't want to tell Liz that he was thinking of Lorelai when he saw it.

"It is. It would really match Lorelai's eyes. In fact, I was actually thinking of Lorelai when I made that." Liz tells him.

"Well I wasn't thinking… it's a nice necklace, is all." Luke says, still not mentioning Lorelai.

Liz chuckles, she seems to be amused. "It is. All right. This is on me."

Luke doesn't want her to pay for it; he wants to help support his sister. But, then Liz says: "After everything T.J.'s put you though?" Luke agrees to let her pay. He tells her that the necklace can be a backup for Rory. Liz seems to have a hard time believing that, Luke says that Rory has blue eyes too. "Yes, she does." Is all Liz says.

Lorelai comes to the diner that afternoon. Luke is happy to see her, until he overhears her telling Patty and Babette: "No, no. It's just karaoke. You know I got swept up in the lyrics and the moment. It didn't mean anything." Luke sees the smile on her face; she seems to be happy with her statement that the song didn't mean anything.

Luke frowns and asks Lorelai, "What can I get for you?" He gets straight down to business; he doesn't want to hear her talk about the karaoke anymore.

Lorelai looks at him. "Hi. Um, a coffee," She says.

"To go, right?" He asks. He doesn't want her to stay because her feelings on the song hurt him. He wasn't sure what she felt, but now that he knows, he doesn't want to look at her and feel rejected.

"Okay?" Lorelai responds. Luke quickly pours her coffee into a to-go cup. "Hey, should I have a doughnut or a muffin?" She asks, sounding like her usual cheerful self.

Luke can't take that. Can't she see that he was hurt by what she said? "Whatever you want," He replies coldly.

"How about a donut with a side of muffin?" Lorelai replies. Luke just nods and walks over to get the donut and muffin. He quickly puts the food into a bag and drops it on the counter in front of Lorelai then walks away, headed upstairs.

In the apartment, Luke sits on his bed and sighs. _If the song didn't mean anything, why did she stare at me while singing it? Didn't she think before she got drunk and sang a love song? What was she thinking when she saw me walk in, oh, there's Luke, maybe I can look at him and sing the song and pretend that it's meant for him when it's really not. Why do we always have to be so vulnerable around each other?_ He was too frustrated to go back downstairs until he was sure Lorelai was gone.

A couple nights later, when Luke takes the trash out, he sees Lorelai on the street.

"How's it going?" Luke asks casually.

"Hey." She greets him.

"What are you doing out here so late?" He asks her.

"I needed to take a walk to clear my head, and I wanted to see if Kirk was still in the box." Lorelai tells him.

"Yeah, apparently he is you know, I wouldn't know. I've decided to ignore him. Gawking only encourages his asinine behaviour. "Luke walks up to her and crosses his arms, almost as if to protect himself from what she might say.

"What about you? You're usually long gone by now." She says.

"The softball team's celebrating their first win. I couldn't get them out the door. Clearing your head about what?" He asks, curious.

Lorelai sighs and says; "Logan proposed to Rory." She sounds disappointed, Luke notices.

"No way, wow." He unfolds his arms and puts his hands in his back pockets, felling a bit at ease that she isn't talking about her feelings for him. "I guess you would need a walk for that. What did she say?" He asks.

"Well, she said she needed time to mull it over." Lorelai tells him.

"Good answer." Luke replies, relieved that Rory isn't jumping into marriage. She's too young.

"I thought so." Lorelai agrees.

"So, uh, did she ask you for your advice?" He wonders.

"She did, yeah." Lorelai replies.

"And?" He asks, curious to what she told Rory.

"I told her it was her decision. My mother's picking out china patterns."

"Oh, I bet she's all over that. So, you're leaning toward 'no'?'" Luke asks.

Lorelai shook her head, "Oh, uh I'm not really leaning. I'm kind of upright." She replies.

Luke looks away then looks back, but doesn't meet her eyes, "Oh, well I just, I could understand if you were leaning away from 'yes'"

"Why?" Lorelai asks, sounding a little upset.

"Well, I mean she's really young and it's the most important decision of your life—you know, her life." He still can't meet her eyes and he realizes he was just hinting at their failed engagement.

"Well, they love each other. He's been great. Maybe they got it together young some people do." She tells him, keeping her eyes on him.

"Right and others need time." He replies, implying that **he** needed more time after she gave him the ultimatum.

Lorelai seems picks up on his implication, "Sure or they're never ready." She says blatantly.

Luke looks away again. "Well I wouldn't say 'never'. Just they want to be a little more careful. They're a little slower, you know, just to make sure it's right." He says, looking at her at the end, even though it feels uncomfortable. He doesn't like that she accused him of not being ready.

Lorelai tells him that you can't always be one hundred percent right, sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.

He didn't want to elope because he wasn't sure what being married to her would be like, how it would affect his relationship with April. And he knew that she would actually want a real big wedding. "You got to know what you're leaping into." He tells her, he had to know that everything would be okay before they jumped into marriage.

"After all this time, how could you not know?" Lorelai asks.

"How could who not know?" He responds, wanting to know if she actually wants to talk about Rory or if she wants to discuss _their_ failures.

"Rory," Lorelai replies with a small nod, glaring at Luke a little.

Luke nodded, "Right."

"Right." Lorelai repeated.

"Rory." Luke says, seeing that she wanted to stop talking about them.

Lorelai says she's going to head home. "Good enough," Luke replies and then he remembers the earrings for Rory and he tells Lorelai to hang on. He goes back into the diner and opens the drawer and takes out the box with the earrings. He stares at the box containing the necklace and debates whether or not to give it to Lorelai. He decides against it, thinking she wouldn't want it as she still seemed upset about his actions when they were engaged. _And besides, the song didn't mean anything to her, she doesn't love you anymore._ He reminded himself. He goes back outside and walks up to Lorelai and holds out the box to her. "I got this for Rory." He tells her.

Lorelai smiles and takes the box. "Yeah, I just thought it would be better if she got it on the day of her actual graduation." Luke says.

"Oh, that's-that's nice." Lorelai responds.

"Yeah, so..." Luke mutters, not knowing what else to say to her.

"Thoughtful… so goodnight," She says with a smile.

"Night." Luke replies with a nod.

Author's note: Thanks for reading. I never liked the fact that Lorelai said the song didn't mean anything just because Miss Patty and Babette were there. She should know that the town is going to talk no matter what she says. She should have talked to Luke in private… I hate that Luke and Lorelai didn't get back together until the last few minutes of the show. The next chapter will be the last one and it will include what I think happens after the kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

A couple weeks later, Luke helps plan a graduation party for Rory. Liz comes to the diner with Doula for a visit. She asks Luke if he gave the necklace to Lorelai.

"That was just a backup gift for Rory." He tells her.

Liz doesn't buy it, "Oh, come on that was no backup gift and what about the song?"

"Forget about the song. The song meant nothing. We're friends. That's it." Luke says. He doesn't want Liz to pester him about Lorelai when he heard her say that the song didn't mean anything.

"Oh, and you're good with being just friends?" Liz says, clearly wanting Luke to admit his feelings.

"Yeah," Luke says, in a nonchalant way. _If all she wants to be is friends then I'm going to have to accept that. We were just friends for eight years before being in a relationship, it shouldn't be too hard._

"I don't buy it." Liz replies.

"Well, then maybe you should give her the necklace then. I'm really busy here." He wants Liz to stop talking about it.

Liz gives up and asks Luke to make Doula's favorite food. Luke agrees, but he knows Liz will try to leave while he makes it so he tells her, "Don't slip out while I make it."

The next day, Lorelai and Rory come to the diner. Luke greets them with a friendly smile. Lorelai tells him that Rory's party is cancelled. The town members that are in the diner react sadly to the news. Lorelai says that Rory got a job.

"Congratulations, that's great news." Luke says to Rory. He happy for her, but he's wondering how Lorelai will deal with Rory being away for so long.

"Thank you. Yeah I'm really excited, but I'm nervous. I have to be a real reporter, yikes."

"You'll be a great one." Luke tells her sincerely.

Lorelai tells everyone that they can't have a party without Rory. The townies seem disappointed and Babette claims that they were promised a re-enactment. Lorelai and Rory quickly and awkwardly do their own little re-enactment. The townies aren't impressed. Lorelai says there's no time for the party, as Rory is leaving in two days. Lorelai tries to cheer everyone up by saying that it's more of a "see you later" than a goodbye. The townies still seem upset and so is Luke. He could tell that Lorelai really wanted to have this party for Rory. _Well, maybe we can still have the party_. He thinks, coming up with a plan.

Luke goes to the Dragonfly to find Sookie. He knows that she'll be happy to help. He tells Sookie they should throw the party anyway; it could be a surprise party. He has all the food anyway.

"You know, that's a very sweet idea, Luke." Sookie says.

"Yeah, I think Rory would really love it." Luke replies, nodding his head.

"I think Lorelai would love it." Sookie responds, clearly wanting him to respond a certain way.

Luke nods again, "Yeah, Rory and Lorelai."

"Yeah, Rory and Lorelai," Sookie grins and giggles a little. "I think we should do it."

"Yeah," Luke is thrilled that Sookie loves the idea. He tells her he'll need desserts and she says Jackson will help with whatever he needs.

Luke quickly plans a town meeting. Taylor was hesitant on the unofficial meeting, but he still attends. When he complains about Luke not having any permits for the grills, the town complains right back. They get everything planned, despite all of Taylor's protests. Everyone agrees to have everything ready to set up in the square after dark.

Lorelai and Rory almost see them bringing the tables into the square, but they somehow manage to get out of their before being seen. Later that night, with help from the town the party planning goes pretty smoothly, until Babette comes running up to Luke, she tells her ankles are swollen, which means it's going to rain. Luke can't believe it, after planning this whole thing; the weather is going to ruin it. He tries to think of a way to still have the party. They can't just give up; Rory deserves this party for all of her hard work at Yale. She's a great kid and the town loves her too much, cancelling the party will devastate them. And Luke knows Lorelai will have a hard time letting Rory go without a proper goodbye. Finally, Luke comes up with an idea that will have to work. He can sew all the town's tarps, tents and raincoats together. Hopefully, they will keep everyone and everyting dry. He tells everyone his idea and collects all their tarps, tents and raincoats. Sookie seems ecstatic about the idea, and Luke makes her promise not to tell Lorelai that he planned it all. She doesn't need to know.

While sewing the items together, Luke thinks about all the good times he's had with Rory and Lorelai. He remembers the necklace and takes it out of the drawer. He puts it in his pocket. _Maybe I can still give it to her. Maybe she needs me to show her that I still love her. Or if she still wants to be just friends, that's fine too. As long as she's happy, that's all that matters._

At the party, Luke barely sees Lorelai. She comes to get food, but Emily pulls her away before Luke can serve it to her. A little while after that, the grills need more charcoal, so Luke goes back to the diner to get some. When he walks back outside, he sees Lorelai walking towards him. He walks up to her slowly. She stops in front of him and greets him, "Hey."

"Hey." He greets her back.

They both inhale. Lorelai meets his eyes and says, "Thank you."

Sookie must have caved and told her. "Oh, it's no big deal." He tells her with a small shrug.

She keeps eye contact with him and says: "Luke." Her voice barely above the volume of a whisper,

Luke looks into her eyes and tells her the truth, "I just… like to see you happy." He smiles softly.

Lorelai smiles back and drops her head a little and his eyes never leave hers. They both move in at the same time, as if there's some sort of invisible magnetic force pulling them together. Luke drops the bag of charcoal right before their lips meet in a tender kiss. He wraps his arm around her and when he feels her place her arm on his shoulder, he wraps his other arm around her and pulls her closer. The kiss feels new, but it also feels familiar. Luke moves his arm to around her neck and deepens the kiss. He feels Lorelai cling onto his arm. They kiss until they have to pull apart for air. When Luke pulls back barely an inch, Lorelai pecks him on the lips. Then, she pulls away and stares at him.

Luke grins at her and she smiles back. "Lorelai…" He whispers. He looks at her, wondering what the kiss meant to her. "I've been wanting to do that since that night at K.C.'s… but then I heard you tell Patty and Babette that the song didn't mean anything so, I j-"

Lorelai interrupts him, "No, Luke… I'm sorry you heard me say that. I just didn't want the town talking about us until I could figure out how I felt. The song meant something, Luke. I want you back, I want us back." He sees tears welling up in her eyes.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Luke replies simply.  
Lorelai smiles and steps closer to him, she wraps her arms around his middle. He immediately hugs her back, savouring the feeling of having her in in his arms again after so long. They embrace a little longer, Luke being the one to pull away. "Oh, I uh… got you something." He says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the necklace box. He places it in Lorelai's palm. Lorelai opens it and gasps.

"Oh, Luke, I love it. Thank you." She tells him.

He smiles, "You're welcome."

"Can you help me put it on?" She asks. He nods and she hands it to him. He walks behind her and she holds her hair to the side while he puts the necklace on. When he moves back in front of her, he tells her what he needs to say and what he thinks she needs to hear.

"Lorelai, I love you. I don't think I ever stopped loving you." He says, somehow finding it easy to tell her his feelings.

"Luke… I love you too." She smiles softly, then frowns. "We need to talk still, but not tonight."

"I know." Luke agreed; he knew they couldn't just magically make everything right again. "But you're right, tonight is about Rory and we should get back to the party."

Lorelai nods then reaches out for his hand. He lowers his head and pressed his lips to hers again. They share a couple of short, sweet kisses. When they pull apart, he cups her face in his hands and takes her in, memorizing how she looks in this moment. She smiles at him again and he moves his hands off her face and picks up the forgotten bag of charcoal. She grabs his arm and they walk back to the party together.

About an hour later, they walk back to the diner. "You get some sleep." Lorelai tells him.

"I will." He replies. Then, he has a thought. "Hey, do you and Rory want to stop by for breakfast before you head to the airport?" He asks.

"Well, she's got an early flight, so it would have to be around five." Lorelai answers.

"That's fine." He tells her.

"Okay. We'll see you tomorrow morning." Lorelai says with a small smile.

He smiles back. She turns around and walks away.

The next morning, Rory and Lorelai come to the diner as promised. Rory thanks Luke for opening up the place.

"I've got to take care of my best customers." Luke tells her honestly.

They joke around about not knowing what to order. Lorelai looks right at Luke and says, "You know, I'm gonna need a minute, I can't decide." She has a big grin on her face and Luke is happy to see it.

"Take all the time you need." He tells her, knowing that there's another meaning behind her words. She still needs time to make sure she ready to be with him again. He's fine with that and he gives her a smile of his own to let her know it. He knows everything will work out for the best.

THE END

Author's note: Thank you for reading and reviewing. When I first read news of the revival, I didn't really believe it, and then I read "this is not a drill."… I'm so excited! I hope WB, Netflix and the actors can confirm it soon. I need to see Lorelai and Luke get the ending they deserve, an ending the fans deserve. I will find it hard to believe if they're not married or not even together in the revival… Please don't pull that kind of crap, ASP! Lol  
I can't wait to see Scott and Lauren on screen together again!


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